If SAF was still the gaffer, would he be competing with Pep/Klopp?

[DeGea]

Football has moved on. Pep and Klopp are playing completely different styles of football to the 90s and early 2000s.

Having said that, SAF was and is probably still the boss. Won everything there was to win. If he was still around managing us today, how competitive would we be? Would we be winning the league with Pep and Klopp around? Or would he struggle?

 

[Harry190]

Yes. We'd have a better team and be first. You just don't know how good you have it until they leave.

I disagree about football moving on though. It's still 10 outfield players on both sides running around.

 

[2 man midfield]

Possibly an unpopular opinion, but I think he got out at the right time.

 

[Skills]

IMO towards the end of his career was transitioning/had transitioned into a DOF role. It seemed like he wasn't involved in the day to day coaching of the first team squad, but was in charge of transfer activity, contracts and the match day.

I think he would've given up his match day responsibilities too and hired a head coach to run the first team squad for him.

 

[Offside]

He’d be a bit old obviously. SAF in his prime would shit on both of them I’d imagine. But as you say football has moved on, so this is a bit too hypothetical to answer.

 

[DeGea]

Possibly an unpopular opinion, but I think he got out at the right time.

I think that is an astute observation.

 

[AgentP]

We wouldn't have won this season or the last one. But we would have won plenty before that. We would also be back challenging in a year or two like we did in 2006.

 

[roonster09]

Yes.

In 2012-13 season we had 77 points in 30 games before getting complacent and that was with players like Cleverley, Welbeck, past it Rio, Vidic, Evra in the side.

 

[charlenefan]

Possibly an unpopular opinion, but I think he got out at the right time.

A fact not lost on Fergie either. He knew he didn't have the years left in him for another rebuild and the challenge that was Man City and Chelsea with Jose returning

 

[Carl]

Football has moved on. Pep and Klopp are playing completely different styles of football to the 90s and early 2000s.

Having said that, SAF was and is probably still the boss. Won everything there was to win. If he was still around managing us today, how competitive would we be? Would we be winning the league with Pep and Klopp around? Or would he struggle?

Was there ever a challenge that he didn't rise to?

This isn't the first time the scope of the premier league has changed.

 

[youngrell]

We'd have at least 2 more titles, IMO.

And that would/could have affected how well City and Liverpool and their managers are now doing.

 

[DeGea]

I genuinely think he would struggle. We won't be losing to the likes of Wolves 3-0 and that, but at the top end we would just get beat by Pep and possibly Klopp reasonably regularly. So comfortably in top 4, but I doubt we would have won the title in the last 2-3 years.

 

[Gandalf Greyhame]

SAF was always adapting. 'Catching the bus before it moves', in his words. We were already trying to go for technical players like Kagawa before he retired. I'm sure we'd have transitioned to a high pressing team and gotten more world class players if he were around.

I don't know if he could have outperformed this City side, but I know we'd be in the conversation for the title. And we'd still be better than Liverpool. SAF would have taken Klopp apart with his mind games.

 

[PoTMS]

He would've still done a lot better than most and been second or third. Guardiola and his financial juggernaut would still be #1 though.

 

[DeGea]

Was there ever a challenge that he didn't rise to?

This isn't the first time the scope of the premier league has changed.

Agreed, but it just feels like it's a completely different level now with City. It's not just on the pitch, the entire structure of the club behind the scenes has changed. The English Barcelona.

 

[Eleven-Eighteen]

SAF was always adapting. 'Catching the bus before it moves', in his words. We were already trying to go for technical players like Kagawa before he retired. I'm sure we'd have transitioned to a high pressing team and gotten more world class players if he were around.

I don't know if he could have outperformed this City side, but I know we'd be in the conversation for the title. And we'd still be better than Liverpool. SAF would have taken Klopp apart with his mind games.

This. Agree 100%

 

[Carl]

He’d be a bit old obviously. SAF in his prime would shit on both of them I’d imagine. But as you say football has moved on, so this is a bit too hypothetical to answer.

That he'd "shit on both of them" is a bit flippant I think, and isn't really acknowledging the remarkable job both are doing. After all, Pep "shat on" Fergie on a couple of big occasions.

 

[SER19]

literally the entire face of English football would be different if Ferguson hadn’t left. Different players would have joined different teams, different sides would have won different titles, Ferguson would have responded to city like he responded to every single challenge he ever faced and come out on top. I fully believe that city or Liverpool simply wouldn’t be where they are if he was still going, and even if we entertain the hypothetical and pretend they’re up there getting 90 plus points,then yes, obviously Alex Ferguson would be competing.

This ‘left at right time’ and all similar bullshit is so idiotic, the game changed in England because he left. He didn’t get out of anything. Unless you can point to evidence of a challenge he didn’t meet and overcome you’re just talking hypothetical babble. Because people on the other side can demonstrate endlessly where he overcame every single rival. Do people forget mourinho came in and hit 95 points and could hardly concede while united were at a low point. Three years later we were playing the best football we ever have under Ferguson with the two best young players in England destroying teams.

 

[roonster09]

Was there ever a challenge that he didn't rise to?

This isn't the first time the scope of the premier league has changed.

Exactly. People keep saying times have changed, well it always changed from 80s and he adapted to every challenge.

This is the man who got 77 points in 30 games, 84 points in 34 games in his last season and that was with average team.

 

[Cait Sith]

Not even SAF could compete with 198 points in 2 seasons without any sort of world class attacking options. No chance whatsoever. The cracks were already there in his last years with the 1-6 against City and bottling the league when he had 8 points advantage or something like that with 4 games to go. 1 great season of RVP individual class to leave on a high doesn't change that.

 

[RedRonaldo]

Real question is, will Pep/Klopp be competing with Fergie?

I mean, if we hand 600m more for Fergie to rebuild over past 5 years (same amount Mourinho and Van Gaal had spent), we surely will continue to dominate the league.

 

[cyberman]

His 08 side played a better version of the modern football that our rivals play so I have no idea why some think he couldn't keep up.
He'd have to spend money though to ccompete with City every year. Against Klopp not so much.
His last side had no business being champions yet Sir Alex operated like Klopp on steroids

 

[#07]

100 per cent. Sir Alex would never have allowed the malaise that's overtaken our dressing room.

Our team might have had less talented players in it but they'd have the desire and work rate to match anyone. No way does an Alexc

 

[matherto]

We would have been second or third for a few years but eventually we'd have gotten back to the top. He always did.

We'd have worked out a new way to play to compete and he'd have players that would die for him if needed.

 

[#07]

100 per cent. Sir Alex would never have allowed the malaise that's overtaken our dressing room.

Our team might have had less talented players in it but they'd have the desire and work rate to match anyone. No way does a Sir Alex Ferguson team get outrun by like 5k by Everton etc.

 

[tenpoless]

Yes.

And some of the players from the top 6 would have signed for us instead. In the terms of evolution / marathon, He's always the king.

 

[roonster09]

This ‘left at right time’ and all similar bullshit is so idiotic, the game changed in England because he left. He didn’t get out of anything

You put it in much better way.

 

[Skills]

SAF was always adapting. 'Catching the bus before it moves', in his words. We were already trying to go for technical players like Kagawa before he retired. I'm sure we'd have transitioned to a high pressing team and gotten more world class players if he were around.

I don't know if he could have outperformed this City side, but I know we'd be in the conversation for the title. And we'd still be better than Liverpool. SAF would have taken Klopp apart with his mind games.

But the question is could he have coached the team to that style of play to the same standard as Guardiola and Klopp, who pretty much live and breathe that brand of football (with their own individual takes on it).

I think he would've needed to bring in someone else to do it for him (a Poch?).

 

[Needham]

He used to compete with Pep on the biggest stage. Unfortunately they were the best team in history.

 

[glazed]

It's not a good question. If he were the same age as he is now but healthy, he would still be past his prime and stuck in his ways as a tactician and club runner. If he were younger, he'd be a different person.

 

[Tarrou]

Hard to say, but obviously we'd be much closer. He kept reinventing himself as the game changed, so no reason to think he couldn't adapt to whatever is happening today.

 

[Samid]

Baldie would have been too scared to join the league with Fergie around, no guaranteed league titles. Klopp would have taken over City, lost a few finals and disappeared into obscurity within a couple of years. Pool would be languishing midtable with Slippy in charge. Mourinho would be on his third sackwatch at Chelsea.

 

[SER19]

Not even SAF could compete with 198 points in 2 seasons without any sort of world class attacking options. No chance whatsoever. The cracks were already there in his last years with the 1-6 against City and bottling the league when he had 8 points advantage or something like that with 4 games to go. 1 great season of RVP individual class to leave on a high doesn't change that.

Redundant point. For reasons outlined above.

 

[shamans]

Only if he was younger. Not at this age.

 

[DoubleDinhos]

Considering Pep outclassed him twice on the biggest stage, and seemed to have the edge in head to heads, and Pep is the master of beating the lesser sides I don't see how Ferguson would compete.

No one is stopping this City juggernaut until he is gone, Ferguson wouldn't change that.

 

[MuranoLover]

Not even SAF could compete with 198 points in 2 seasons without any sort of world class attacking options. No chance whatsoever. The cracks were already there in his last years with the 1-6 against City and bottling the league when he had 8 points advantage or something like that with 4 games to go. 1 great season of RVP individual class to leave on a high doesn't change that.

City and Liverpool would be under a lot more pressure and I doubt they would be making 90+ points with such ease. They don't feel any kick in the ass right now.

 

[sullydnl]

Competing with? Yes.

Beating? Maybe not. Given how good City have been in the last two years it would likely have been a situation similar to the one we faced upon the arrival of Mourinho's Chelsea, where suddenly we realise we needed to step up another level.

 

[SER19]

Considering Pep outclassed him twice on the biggest stage, and seemed to have the edge in head to heads, and Pep is the master of beating the lesser sides I don't see how Ferguson would compete.

No one is stopping this City juggernaut until he is gone, Ferguson wouldn't change that.

You mean when he had Messi handing him champions league titles with a once in a generation side behind him? Even mourinho beat him to a title at the first sign of a wane of that side.

 

[cyberman]

Considering Pep outclassed him twice on the biggest stage, and seemed to have the edge in head to heads, and Pep is the master of beating the lesser sides I don't see how Ferguson would compete.

No one is stopping this City juggernaut until he is gone, Ferguson wouldn't change that.

Yet a lesser manager in Klopp could do it this weekend.
Sir Alex won in a tougher time period, it wasn't just City he was competing against. The magic of Sir Alex was that he made it look like a lesser league with how his teams performed.
Pep isn't outclassing top sides without Messi anymore so...
Also a point that's missed is the players he would bring in. There's the belief that Ronaldo promised a return after the RVP season only to do a 180 when Sir Alex retired.
We wouldnt be sat here with Lukaku up top and the vacuum that retirement left wouldn't exist so it would he Klopp and Pep playing catch up with us

 

[roonster09]

Considering Pep outclassed him twice on the biggest stage, and seemed to have the edge in head to heads, and Pep is the master of beating the lesser sides I don't see how Ferguson would compete.

No one is stopping this City juggernaut until he is gone, Ferguson wouldn't change that.

Yeah luckily City don't have Messi in their team, also Xaviesta who all were among the best ever.